Without a Trace
by jacraan
Summary: "What do you mean she's gone! She can't just disappear!" Dick snapped, gripping Bruce's shoulders so hard that it might've left bruises the next morning. The older man shrugged him off and boomed in an even louder voice, "It's like I said. One minute she was doing recon, the next gone." - Zatanna X Nightwing (Chalant). T for language and violence.
1. Prologue

"What do you mean she's _gone_?! She can't just disappear!" Dick snapped, gripping Bruce's shoulders so hard that it might've left bruises the next morning. The older man shrugged him off and boomed in an even louder voice,

"It's like I said. One minute she was doing recon, the next gone."

"Where?" Dick asked

"The Caribbean. We got information that the Injustice League had a secret base located there. We sent Zatanna there to check it out" Alfred stood by the door as Bruce grabbed his jacket from him. He slipped his arms into his coat, his biceps fitting tightly into the material. Dick and Alfred followed him out of the parlor and towards the front door.

"So you just send her into the field all by herself?" Dick said angrily.

"We weren't sure the island was really a base or not, however it did have some sort of magical vibe coming from it. We sent Zatanna because she's the only one who can use magic besides Doctor Fate." Bruce leaned against the doorframe.

"Then why not send Doctor Fate?"

"Zatanna said she could do it by herself. She's strong enough and a lot more experienced now. I thought she could do it herself too."

"Damn it Bruce! You should have had back up with her. If it was a base then she could've gotten herself killed!" "Dick, we only sent her for recon." He interrupted.

"She was to investigate the island and see if there was any threat. If there was she would report back as soon as possible." Bruce yanked open the door, letting a cool burst of spring wind engulf the foyer. "And I'm not stupid. Of course she had back up waiting for her, just in case something went wrong."

"Then why isn't she here?!" Dick was so tempted to strangle the man to death right now.

"Because once she stepped foot onto that island every tracker and microphone we put on her lost its signal. We had Martian Manhunter establish a psychic link with her and that also lost connection. Dick, once we found out we lost her we started searching every inch of that damn island. She was gone, like she vanished into thin air." Bruce started walking out of the door. He stopped in his tracks and spun around. Looking Dick straight in the eyes he said, "Look I know how much she meant to you, but she's part of the Justice League now and we will be the ones to look for her. She's our responsibility, not the Team's. As much as you want to go search for her yourself, I'm sorry."

* * *

**Felt like it was time to start a new story, sorry the prologue is kind of short, it's midnight right now and I got school tomorrow. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as "What are Friends for?". Feedback and reviews are greatly welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 1

The guilt was engulfing him like a wildfire. The flames seemed to grow stronger as he relived his last memory with Zatanna over and over again.

It happened only a couple days before he heard the news of her disappearance. Now looking back on it, he just wanted to go back in time. Change what he said to her. Make everything right again.

_But that's not going to happen_

_Not if she's never found._

Sighing, he gazed over towards the window. The city lights seemed to glare back at him. His life seemed to have stopped while all around him everyone else was just carrying on.

_He needed to do something._

_Bruce said no though._

_… But does he really have to obey his orders?_

An idea popped up in his head. Grinning, he jumped off of the couch and ran out of his apartment. He couldn't wait until tomorrow. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Not when he had the chance to see her again.

Exiting the building, he ran towards his motorcycle, straddled his leg over the seat, and started the engine. With a smirk he revved the bike and zoomed onto the road.

* * *

It was really cloudy that day. The storm clouds were starting to clear up from the rain that afternoon, but it was still pretty gloomy. Dick parked his bike on the side of the road by the Rose café. Sliding off his helmet, it felt good to feel the rush of the cold air again. It had been pretty warm these past couple weeks. Well, it was the midst of spring, but Dick's pretty partial to the chill of fall weather. It's good to be able to feel that on his skin again before summer.

The sidewalk was slick as he walked towards the café at the corner of the street. It was the same as usual; it was a popular café around Gotham so it was bound to have more than a couple of people here and there. Fortunately, today was a day when they didn't have too many people seated. Dick treated himself to a table, the one he usually sat, in the back corner. He liked it there; it was by a window, which gave him a view of the city to look at. It was also pretty secluded, there's never that many people seated around because no one really likes to sit in the back of a restaurant, so not many ears to listen into his conversations.

"May I take your order Mr. Grayson?"

Dick looked up to see one of the waitresses that worked at the café. He frequents the place quite often, so most of the employees knew him by name now. The man smiled and said, "I'm actually waiting for someone. When she gets here I'll be ready to order."

"Ooh a girl? A date perhaps?" The waitress smiled.

Dick grinned, "I guess you could say that."

The waitress laughed and playfully punched his shoulder, "Oh you dog. Well I'll check up on you later. Let's hope your girl doesn't make you wait too long."

And she didn't. It was only a few more minutes until she showed up. He could see her figure weaving through the different tables to get to the one Dick told her he would be seated at.

"Geez, couldn't pick a table easier to get too?" she said with a toss of her long ebony hair.

"Wouldn't want you to get an easy get away." He chuckled.

With a smirk she nodded, "Well there is this window I could crash through." She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.

"Wouldn't want to create a scene though, would you Cheshire?"

Jade laughed, "How would you know."

Before Dick could answer, the waitress came back, "Are you guys ready?"

"I'll just have my usual coffee." Dick said.

"And I'll have some tea." Jade added, still twirling around her finger. "Black tea. And let me have it in a to-go cup please."

The waitress nodded and trotted off to place their orders. Once she was gone Dick turned to Jade, "Wow already planning your escape?"

"You never know when something will go wrong pretty boy."

Dick leaned over the table, "Let's just cut it to the chase. I know you have information about what's going on in the Caribbean and I want you to spill it. Now."

Jade leaned over as well, taking her ivory arm and propping her head up with it. "Who says I know anything about it?"

"Well you are your father's daughter. You've been places we haven't."

"Okay let me rephrase that, why would I tell you?"

Dick sighed, "I thought you turned over a new leaf. I mean you did marry Roy and all."

Jades slid her hand across the man's broad shoulders, making her way to the back of his head. She pulled him closer to her. He could feel her breath against his neck; sending weird chills down his spine. "Same cat, new tricks." She whispered into his ear.

"Here are your drinks…" The waitress said as she walked up to the table. Jade smiled, placing her hands on the table and stood up. She grabbed the drink from the girl's hand and strutted off.

On her way out she called out, "Thanks for the treat pretty boy."

"Oh, didn't go well?" The waitress asked as she watched her walk out of the café. "Well you're a handsome guy. I'm pretty sure there will be other fish in the sea." She gave him a wink before setting the coffee cup onto the table and walking off.

Dick wrapped his fingers around the handle of the coffee cup and took a sip. With a sigh, the man starred out the window, the night felt like it was going by slower and slower. His gaze then dropped down to the table. A grin slowly grew onto his face,

"Actually I think the date was pretty successful."

"Miss can I get this coffee to go?" He called as he stood up from the table. The waitress came back and quickly poured the coffee into a paper cup.

"Going somewhere?"

Dick smiled, "Yes, got a flight to the Caribbean in the morning."

He placed a tip on the table and left the café, making sure to grab the flash drive she left behind on his way out.


End file.
